Twenty-three musicians from the Pacific Northwest had the unique opportunity to perform with an international orchestra at the 62nd General Conference Session — a week of multilingual rehearsals and cross-cultural collaboration that left them energized and inspired.
When friends who are musicians need more musicians for a special occasion, they know how to tap into their network.
Pavel Semanivskyy, University of Montemorelos symphony orchestra director, reached out to Luivob Brunton, Violin Praise director/conductor, at Village Church in College Place, Washington, with an invitation to join the 62nd General Conference Session international orchestra.
“This was my dream for all my life, and we are so happy we can be here and play together to glorify God’s name,” said Brunton during GC Session. “Our goal is to play [and] bring joy to people’s hearts through the music.”
Brunton started Violin Praise in 2011 with a handful of students. Today, the group has 35–40 participants, many of whom traveled to St. Louis for the event.
“We are so pleased to be included in this international cooperation of an orchestra for GC Session,” said Roger Johnson, viola player.
Rehearsals were a unique experience for all involved, as instructions were provided in three languages.
“I think it’s been unique in that so many different languages and cultures are coming together,” said Eliana Kearns, violin player. “From the conductors, we’ve heard Spanish, English and Russian. Somehow, we’ve managed to be on the same measure most of the time.”
“I’ve been impressed with the conductors and their ability to express and explain topics and certain ideas of musical phrasing [regardless of language],” added Simon Shepherd, Village Brass trumpet and trombone player. “They get the message across through their actions and how they say things.”
Typically, the musicians received music in the morning rehearsal and then performed it that evening.
“We’ll look at it [and] play it through a couple of times,” explained Shepherd. “The group is so good that we’re just ready to go and then we go back up on stage and perform it.”
The Sabbath performances were particularly memorable as the orchestra was joined by a mass choir and a children’s choir.
“It’s been such a great experience because I’ve been able to play with musicians from different parts of the world,” said Francely Zarita, a flutist from Walla Walla. “It’s especially exciting because I was born in Mexico and some of the musicians that came to play are from University of Montemorelos. It’s been a warm experience to connect.”
“Music is such a universal language,” Kearns said. “There are two things that really unite us: our love of music and our love for God. It’s cool to see how everyone here wants to know Jesus more and to unite as one.”*
*José Segovia, North Pacific Union media coordinator, conducted the referenced interviews.
